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case study

Web traffic was increasing as new content

was launched to meet the needs for both

self serve and enterprise markets.


Conversion from marketing pages was stalling as different user groups struggled to identify with a confident next step.

Confusion around plans and pricing was visible in CS cases and user feedback.

How can we make plans and pricing content more accessible as a starting point to a conversion?

SURVEYMONKEY PLANS & PRICING

ART DIRECTOR & DESIGN LEAD

problem

MY ROLE

COLLABORATORS

Give users an entry point into plans and pricing in context with the content they are engaged with.

Art Director & Design Lead

Growth (project manager)

Brand Design

Product Design

Content

CMS

User Research

KPIS

  • Conversion rate across plans

  • Traffic to full pricing page

  • CS cases related to plans and pricing

DELIVERABLES

A new, scalable CMS block that can provide dynamic pricing, billing and plan comparison content for all current target markets.

solution

How can we improve the current user flow?

research & discovery

CHALLENGES & CONSIDERATIONS

  • Initial build to use current styles only and stay cohesive to complete user journeys.


  • Identifying which plans are shown on landing based on content targets and engagement.


  • This is an uncommon usage of pricing based content across marketing pages and so lacks examples to draw analysis from. Best practices and testing will play a larger role in development and communication of the solution.

  • Tests to launch on desktop only (88% of users)


  • How does structure and content need to accommodate international usage?


  • Split ownership of pricing and sign up flows will require regular communications and updates.

  • Visual length and complexity makes identifying specific features difficult.


  • The page defaults to teams plans without context of what a user was engaging with previously.


  • There are no feature descriptions and the option to see a clear comparison table that features them is buried down the page.


  • The tab design isn’t defined enough to indicate a clear range of plans.


  • The plans highlighted with offers have no indication of the price shown being the pre or post offer price.


  • Features are repeated in every list with no break or difference in design to the ones that are the added value for that particular plan.

Current experience (left)


Through the lens of a new user, it is clear why there are struggles in self identification with the right plan and features. Dissecting the content into its parts, we were able to identify how a new solution could be a more positive experience. Some highlights included:

Competitor research


  • How and when are others engaging users with related content?


  • Does any of that related content introduce plans and pricing?


  • What content is necessary to make an informed decision around conversion?

Identifying key content


  • Standardized and consistent card layout

  • Plan title

  • Price

  • Consistent billing information

  • Relevant CTA

  • Feature list and/or plan description

  • Simplified tab structure

Stakeholder meetings


Learning and analyzing how different teams view plans and pricing, where the value is for users and how they could see it becoming more effective.

User feedback


On screen, marketing page surveys confirmed that users would benefit from having related plans and pricing content available when engaged with content like features or templates.


In a survey of 1500 general audience users, 54% stated they like to see all available options before making a purchasing decision.

PROPOSED NEW FLOW

A success, but how can we have more impact on paid?

initial testing

BASIC BLOCK TESTING

With limitations and constraints such as current styling and the need to keep designs in line with current user journeys, rough wire framing became more deliberate quickly.


The basic block or baseline component would be tested on two high traffic landing pages to a mixture of high and low intent users.


I explored some variations that encompassed the key content we had identified and the chosen direction was decided by it’s effectiveness to engage but not disrupt a users current experience.

Conclusions


  • Pricing content is helping users make informed and positive decisions. There is value in the content as an early identifier to a plan type.


  • Package mix can be used to effect conversion.


  • Content visible on landing will have higher engagement, making dynamic population with regard to content type an important factor.

TEST HIGHLIGHTS

  • +1.7% free plan conversion

  • +2.3% CTR to pricing page

  • Paid plans flat result

RESULT

Homepage


A: No pricing block (control)



B: Full pricing block

  • +1.3% free plan conversion

  • +3.2% CTR to pricing page

  • Paid plans flat result

RESULT

SEM landing page


A: No pricing block (control)



B: Full pricing block

C: Paid plans only


  • -2.2% free plan conversion

  • +0.5% paid plan conversion

  • +2.5% CTR to pricing page

RESULT

optimization

Building on initial results and trying to answer any remaining questions with view to a final build.

Using key content as the building blocks to create a more intuitive and engaging experience.

  • +5% free plan conversion.



  • Paid plans directionally positive.

Is current hierarchy and order efficient?


Plan name ranked low as a user decision making factor but is almost always appears at the top. Would a change in hierarchy cause confusion?

What is the most effective CTA destination?


Current funnels might not be as effective as a continuation of detailed pricing content.

If feature lists won’t dynamically populate in context with page content, are they valuable?


A plan description could be more effective than the same list of features in each plan at this early stage of user engagement.

How will design and dev be effected by brand refresh efforts?


Ongoing brand refresh work will need to be accounted for and designs updated to reflect the new system.

INCREMENTAL A/B TEST HIGHLIGHTS

RESULT

Content engagement


A: Feature list



B: Plan description

A plan description is providing more value to almost all user groups.

CONCLUSION

  • Free plan directionally positive.

  • Paid plans flat result.

RESULT

Changing the hierarchy and order of the content does not negatively effect engagement.

CONCLUSION

Content order


A: Current layout



B: New hierarchy, price first

finalized design

in review

Key learnings


  • Breaking down and simplifying existing content can help discover new value.


  • Referring back to a holistic view of the user journey helped to stay aligned with original goals. It also helped to identify the gaps in different users education and engagement.


  • Keeping momentum in the project by developing next steps is important, especially after initial wins when it can become tougher to keep stakeholders aligned with the final goals.

Action items


  • How can the successes be scaled across other pricing content?


  • Updates to design library, usage guidelines and outlining tests for international.


  • Reflection period and follow up testing based on longer term engagement.


  • Exploration of full pricing page redesign to add consistency to the user journey.


  • Extending the user journey into product for upsell and retention opportunities.